Half Of My Heart
by AlphaWriter1
Summary: What if Rachel had a younger sister? How would that have affected the Glee Club after the original group of New Directions graduated? Follow Naomi Berry and Jake Puckerman in their adventures through high school, starting at their sophomore year, the same as their older siblings had. (DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Glee, or else I wouldn't be writing this. It would be on the show.)
1. Chapter 1

**Half Of My Heart  
Glee Au Fan Fiction  
Chapter 1: Background Check  
**

_**A/N: Well, I'm trying something new out. I've had this idea for a while and I finally found a way to make it work. So, I hope you guys enjoy it. This chapter is just a little way for you to understand how it's going to work into the story, even though it was a pretty AU thing. (All the events happened, such as the relationships, who dated who, and scandals like Babygate). I'm actually pretty proud of this story, in a lot of ways. All of the information on Naomi is up on my polyvore which you can access from my profile. Let me know what you think. **_

* * *

_**Sophomore Year:  
**__Naomi Berry sat in her bedroom, on her white, cushioned platform bed. At thirteen years old, she had designed her bedroom to look the way she had always wanted it to look._

_A royal purple quilted comforter covered her bed with a slightly lighter shade for the sheets. A black and white Victoria's Secret body pillow and a purple body pillow leaned up against her headboard with her purple pillow case covered pillow cases layering four pillows over those. Then she had her collection of black and white throw pillows adding an even thicker layer of pillows against her bed, taking up half of the queen sized bed._

_Her bed was positioned in the middle of her room, the door to the right, with a purple painted nightstand in between the bed and the door. On top of the table was her black, round alarm clock and her purple lamp._

_Across from the bed was her black desk with the purple desk chair pushed all the way in, her purple macbook resting half-open on the surface of the desk, with her purple desk lamp leaning over it. One one side of the desk was her tall, black wooden wardrobe with a purple dresser on the other side of the desk._

_In her secluded little section of the room sat her black vanity that was designed to look like it belonged on a movie set, with her own director's chair pushed all the way in. A purple guitar stood on its stand by her bed with a collection of picture frames hanging over the bed. On the top of her dresser sat her purple iHome, designed to look like an old fashioned boom box._

_The picture frames each held a variety of photos, most of which were full of shots that consisted of herself and her older sister, Rachel Berry. A few held her and her sister's best friend, Noah Puckerman, some with his little sister, Ayla. A couple held group shots of the four and there were even some of her and her fathers, Hiram and LeRoy, as well as ones of herself and Puck's mother, Barbra._

_And then there was her entire frame, dedicated only to pictures of herself and her own best friend, one Jacob Puckerman, the half-brother of Noah Puckerman. The same boy that Noah and his sister didn't know existed. The boy that had been the reason for Noah's father to finally walk out of his life._

_Naomi was the only person, besides Noah's mother, who knew that Jake was related to Noah in any way, and she had been spending the entire period of time she had been friends with Jake, keeping the pair apart, at Jake's insistence._

_That is, she had been the only other person until this very moment in time._

_"We have to tell Noah, Naomi. It isn't fair to him to keep this a secret. And how am I supposed to tell Noah that he and his family are not welcome at your Bat Mitzvah? Naomi, think about what you're asking me to do here. You know I'd do anything for you, but I can't do this to Noah. He's my best friend!" The sixteen year old Rachel Berry said from her spot besides Naomi on the bed._

_"Rachel, you're asking me to compromise the trust of my best friend for the boy who has been tossing slushies into your face for the part two years! Noah might have been your best friend once but the two of you can't say you're still best friends. I'm not trying to be hurtful, but you came to me in tears when he told you that you had never been friends, after the break up," Naomi protested, trying to get her sister to see reason._

_She had been at a dead end when it came to what she was supposed to do about her thirteenth birthday party. She wanted Jake there-she needed her best friend by her side. But, how could she keep a secret like that in the bag, when Jake looked so much like Noah did, resembling their father even more than Noah did?_

_That was what had brought the boy to Naomi's attention in the fist place. She had spotted the boy at the back of the Synagogue one week and slipped away from her family to go and introduce herself to him. When she had asked him his name, he had only said his first name. She had then asked if he was related to Noah, because of their similar appearances, and she had gotten the whole story then and there. She was fairly certain that the ten year old boy had wanted to get that secret out of the bag for a long time coming, and was grateful to have somebody to cheer it with._

_Still, he made her swear to never tell anybody else, so, when Rachel or her fathers commented on the strange similarities between Jake and Noah, Naomi just shook her head and played dumb, acting as though she hadn't noticed them before._

_"Couldn't you just play dumb? The way you did with dad, daddy and I?"_

_"They're going to be near each other! They'll be face to face with one another. How can I hide the similarities then? Before, it was easy-they couldn't see one another. That's not the case anymore, Rachel!" Naomi shook her head._

_"Alright, fine-I'll figure something out. But, you owe me big time for this Naomi. It's not right that I'm keeping a secret of this proportion from him, especially when it's about him," Rachel sighed, standing up from the bed._

_"It's not my secret to tell, Rachel. It's Jake's secret, and when he's ready to come out into the open about it, I'll be by his side and make sure that Puck's the first person he tells. And I'll make sure that Noah isn't made aware of the fact that you knew all along. But, I'm going to keep his secret the same way that you keep all of Noah's secrets," Naomi said, sounding much more mature than her thirteen years might suggest for herself._

_"I protect secrets that Noah shares with me because he's been there for me since we were in pre-school. It's much different," She said, suddenly changing from the loving sister that was so understanding as she made her way from the room._

_"Rachel...when are you going to admit that you're in love with him?" Naomi called out after her sister who was walking from the room as the younger girl fell back against her many pillows._

_Rachel paused in the doorway, her hand on the doorknob, thinking for a moment before she gave her answer, not looking back to look at her sister to give the response._

_"I'll admit it, when you admit to being in love with Jake," She sighed, pulling open the door and leaving her sister there to wonder what on earth Rachel could be talking about._

* * *

_**Junior Year:  
**"Naomi-I need to talk to you, like, right now. You won't guess what's happened. It's the absolute worst thing imaginable!" Rachel said, bursting into Naomi's room to find her soon-to-be fourteen year old sister laughing on her bed in a fit of giggles while one Jake Puckerman ticked her, leaning over her with a wicked grin on his face. _

_Sensing the distress in Rachel's tone, Jake straightened up and Naomi popped up into an upright, sitting position, eyes on Rachel who looked close to tears. _

_"What's going on? Is Noah alright?" Naomi panicked. "Or did Finn finally mess things up so that I don't have to deal with his too-tall self walking around the house anymore?" She knew that final comment was wrong and a bit heartless, but she just wanted try and cheer up her sister-and she was sort of hoping that she was right and FInn Hudson would be out of her life for ever. She wasn't a fan of her sister's newest boyfriend. _

_"That isn't funny. Finn is a wonderful boyfriend and he cares about me. This has nothing to do with him. It has everything to do with Noah-I'm not sure if he's okay or not, Naomi. He's been arrested. They sent him to juvie for backing his mother's car into a gas station and driving off with the ATM machine in his trunk! He's so **stupid **sometimes. And I've talked to dad and daddy both and neither of them can do anything about it. He's not even getting a trial or anything, and daddy said there wouldn't be anything they could do anyways, because he admitted to it!" Rachel said, joining the younger kids on the bed. _

_"He's in jail?" Jake whispered, eyes widening at the fate of his half-brother. _

_"Why did he do it? Did they need money or something? I thought that Barbra got that promotion and they were doing better? And isn't his pool cleaning business doing really well?" Naomi asked, immediately losing her playful demeanor about the possibility that Finn might have been dismissed from their entire life so that they didn't have to deal with him any longer. _

_"I don't know! I think it has something to do with Quinn-god, I hate her so much sometimes. But, she broke up with him over the summer, because apparently nothing was real between them without Beth being involved. I guess he was heartbroken over it. But he never mentioned anything to me and Finn said that he seemed fine about the break-up and was into somebody else, but that's the only thing that I can think of it-"_

_"His dad walked out on him and his mom and our sister around this time of year," Jake muttered, shaking his head. "It was probably too much for him to deal with, on top of losing Beth and that Quinn girl breaking up with him," He shrugged. _

_"Oh, god! I can't believe I forgot about that. I'm a horrible best friend-the absolute worst in the entire world. I shouldn't be allowed to call myself his best friend," Rachel said, eyes growing wide as she remembered the thing that she, along with her family, were the only people to know._

_ Noah was very private when it came to his personal life, only allowing Rachel to know what was going on in his life, sometimes going to her fathers for advice, and occasionally checking in with Naomi, acting as the overprotective older brother that he thought she and Rachel both needed to have in their lives._

_Naomi shook her head, giving her sister a reassuring hug before the older girl got up and excused herself, saying she needed to go to the Puckerman residence to find out when she could go and pay Noah a visit. _

_As soon as Rachel was gone, Naomi was leaning against Jake, his arms wrapping around her as he leaned back against her large supply of pillows. _

_Her head was resting on his chest, face burrowed inside, as he ran a hand through her hair, as he knew that that was a way to calm her down whenever she was upset. She loved that he knew her so well that he could relax her, without any noise coming from either of them so that they didn't need to talk to one another._

_"Promise me you won't ever do anything so stupid," She sighed into his chest, not caring how muffled her words were. She was sure that he would be able to understand her anyways. _

_"I won't go leaving you on your own. You'll end up turning into a cat lady if I'm gone," He chuckled, causing her to giggle at his stupidity, breaking away from his hold to slap him in the chest. _

_"You're such an idiot," She rolled her eyes._

_"True-but I'm **your **idiot," he grinned at her playfully._

_They were quiet for a little while, resuming to their cuddling position as Naomi remembered that her sister was upset and took on her depressed tone once again. _

_After all, Noah had been a big part of Naomi's life for as long as she could remember. He had been there for her when she started school. He had been there through her first crush. He had been there for her Bat Mitzvah, understanding when he wasn't actually allowed to show up, even if he never was given the real reason. _

_He was there when her friends left her and he was there for every disappointment and every success. _

_But, most importantly, he had been there for her sister whenever she was at a low point in her life, and to Naomi, that was all that mattered. Noah was a part of the family in her eyes, and no matter what happened, she was never going to see things differently. He was going to be her brother-in-law one day, after all, even if neither he or Rachel knew it just yet. _

_Naomi knew that her sister loved Noah and she could tell from his special Rachel-Look with the matching Rachel-Smile that he loved her back. They just needed to forget about labels, stereotypes, cliches, social status, popularity, and what the rest of the school would have to say about it. And then they needed to realize how madly in love with one another that they were, before making a move on one another to begin their happily ever after. _

_Of course, every now and then, Naomi was sure that they'd realized that they loved one another. _

_Like, when Rachel learned that Noah was having a baby with Quinn. Rachel had come home and fallen face first into her bed, crying for hours about what a disappointment it was. She hadn't been able to look at Noah at their family dinners afterwards and she avoided him at Temple. She almost went out of her way to avoid him, which did, admittedly, make it easier for Naomi when it came to her Bat Mitzvah, as Rachel and Noah were not talking at the time. _

_Or, when Rachel and Finn started dating. Noah got this disgusted-meets-sad look on his face whenever Finn's name was brought up and when Finn, Rachel and Noah would be in the same location, Naomi would be held witness to the longing glances that Noah shot Rachel's way, before shaking his head and allowing a sad smile to take place on his face. And nobody failed to notice the way that Noah's fists clenched up whenever Finn's hands rested a little bit too low on Rachel's hips-and everybody knew about the long talk Noah had given to Finn, warning him to respect Rachel, at the start of their relationship._

_So, maybe they were heading down the road that they were actually in love with one another. It didn't mean very much, as Rachel was in a relationship that she seemed so happy about while Noah was locked up in jail for doing something completely ridiculous and stupid. _

_And that left Rachel with a broken heart as she realized that they were just too different to actually be together. And that would result in a broken hearted Noah Puckerman when he got out of juvie and had to deal with this newfound realization. _

_"Jake? Can you promise me something?" She sighed, tilting her head to look up at her own best friend. _

_"Anything, you know that," He smiled down at her, that reassuring smile that told her that everything was going to be okay in the world and allowed her to believe in a better day coming along soon, whenever she was upset. _

_"Promise me that we'll never fall in love with one another? Because I don't want us to end up like Noah and Rachel, where our friendship is tainted by their feelings for one another and the fact that they keep breaking one another's hearts, all the time," She sighed, refusing to look at him as she asked him those questions and gave her reasoning behind them. _

_"I already love you, Naomi-a little late for that," He rolled his eyes. _

_"No-I mean...in love-where we belong together and should date, but we won't because we don't want to admit that the feelings changed from those friendship-loving-feelings, to those boyfriend-girlfriend-love-feelings...did that make sense?" She frowned. _

_"It made plenty of sense. I promise you that I'll never fall in love with you and want to be your boyfriend. God, sometimes you ask me to do the weirdest things in the world," He responded, shaking his head at what he spoke. _

_"Does it encourage that you'll never fall in love with me?" She asked playfully. _

_"Actually, it would make me want to fall in love with you, if I didn't know that you only get weirder each and every day. It's a good thing I know you so well, or this would be a dangerous promise that I probably wouldn't be able to keep," he teased her, leaning down and giving her a gentle kiss on the top of the head.  
_

_"So, we're good? No feelings? No relationships? No dating or any of that nonsense that only leads to ruining a friendship that means the world to me?" She asked, causing him to laugh at her dramatics, earning him a smack in the chest that sobered him up as he pretended to be in pain from her slap. _

_"No romance," He promised._

* * *

**_Senior Year: _**

_Rachel came walking into Naomi's room, dropping down on her bed, falling onto her back as she spread her arms out. Naomi turned around from her desk, where she was working on homework, raising an eyebrow at her sister's actions. Before she had a chance to question what was happening, an angry looking Noah Puckerman came storming into the room, already in the middle of some rant that might seem uncharacteristic coming from him to most people, but not when it came to the Berry girls, who were always allowed to see the softer, sweeter side of the residential bad ass of Lima, Ohio. _

_"-completely irresponsible and ridiculous. You are throwing your entire life away to be with some lying, cheating, immature boy who doesn't even know how he really feels and is just trying to build up his confidence because he's just an insecure mother fucker-sorry about swearing, Naomi-who doesn't deserve a girl as smart, talented, sweet, loving, and gorgeous as you. Will you just stop and think about what you're doing for a second? This is just-"_

_"OH MY GOD! Will you please just **shut up? **Noah, this is my life and I'm going to do what I want to do with it. Get over it. I didn't like that you were having a baby with Quinn, but I don't recall giving you a long lecture about how stupid and irresponsible you were being while throwing your life away. Do you remember be behaving that way?" Rachel snapped, rolling over and sitting up, facing him. _

_"That is completely different. I made a mistake. What was I going to do? Turn around and tell Quinn to get an abortion or something? I had to deal with my mistake because it couldn't be fixed. You can fix your god damn mistake!" Puck shouted. _

_"Who are you to give me a lecture on responsibility?" Rachel glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. _

_"The fact that you **need **a lecture on responsibility from me should say that I'm right," He huffed. _

_"You're being ridiculous. This is your best friend that I'm talking about. I don't see what the problem is-shouldn't you be happy for me for a change? Just let me live a little bit for once?" She asked. _

_"No, I can't! Rachel, you've got a bright future ahead of you and you're going to be on Broadway. You're going to New York City. He's not heading out that way-what's he going to do there? Take a couple of classes for a job he doesn't really want? He's going to be miserable and he's going to make you miserable right along with him," Puck said. _

_"What the hell is going on right now?" Naomi shrieked, jumping up and storming towards the two high school seniors, crossing her arms as she reached them, looking back and forth between her older sister and the boy who had always been a part of her life. "Are you pregnant or something? Because I think you should have told dad and daddy before you went and told the entire Glee club which would mean the entire school knew first," She wondered, eyes locked on Rachel. _

_"She sure as hell better not be pregnant, because then I'll have to go and beat Finn-o-cence's ass in for a second time today. God, Naomi, why the hell did you have to put that idea in my head? God, the mental image here...oh my god, I need to go flush my brain out or something right now. It was bad enough just knowing that they had sex, now I have to deal with this? And, you know what-that's another thing. The guy forgot you were a vegan. Remember when I was here holding your hair because he fed you god damn meat?" Puck snapped, turning his attention back to Rachel. _

_"I'm not pregnant, Naomi. Finn proposed, and I've said yes. We're going to get married, whether Noah likes this sudden turn of events or not, is completely irrelevant, because he seems to be forgetting that this is my life and not his own, meaning he doesn't really get to have a say in my life choices. That is what we're fighting about. He says that we are much too young and this is a ridiculous and irresponsible decision," Rachel said, taking on her lecturing tone. _

_She was still talking, but Naomi had tuned out as she tried to process what was going on. How on earth was her smart, level-headed sister who always thought everything that she did through before speaking or acting, could end up getting engaged when she was only eighteen and still in high school, barely even accepted to her dream college. _

_And then there was Noah's confession, letting Naomi know that her sister had hooked up with Finn Hudson and actually had sex with the guy, something that she swore was sacred and should be saved until marriage. _

_Clearly, she didn't know her sister very well. _

_"What the hell were you thinking?" Naomi blurted out. _

_Apparently, Noah and Rachel had resumed their arguing when Naomi had zoned out, because they both turned to her in confusion, eyes wide, jaws dropped, eyebrows furrowed into confused little Vs. _

_"Why would you have sex with Finn Hudson? You don't really love him and you know that. We just had this conversation together! And now you're suddenly engaged to him and you're going to get married to him? God, Rachel, how could you be so stupid? I mean, I love you and all, but you're being an idiot," Naomi shook her head. _

_"Oh, I should have known better than to come in here. You're just like Noah-no better than him. You hate Finn and you've hated him since the day you met him." Rachel glared at her. _

_"I don't hate Finn. You know that. I think he's a wonderful guy and he's very sweet. But he's always going to have a soft spot for Quinn and you know that as well as I do. You don't really love Finn. He was just a challenge, something for you to win. You got him, you proved that you could get him. Now set him free and let the both of you be happy!" Naomi insisted. _

_"Do you seriously think I'm making a mistake?" Rachel sighed. _

_"Yes," Puck blurted out. _

_"Shut up, Noah!" Naomi turned and snapped at him at the same time that Rachel did as well._

_"Yes, I do, Rachel. I think you need to think this through a little more. If you're going to make a decision like this-a decision to be with him for the rest of your life, you should be able to think about it and just...wait a little bit, until you're sure. But, Rachel, the only guys that you've ever dated have been Jesse, Finn, and Noah. And Noah was only for a week. Jesse was only for about three months. The other three years since you started dating have all been Finn, even if it was on and off again," Naomi shrugged. _

_"Alright...I'll think about it. Does that make you happy now?" She asked, turning around to look at Noah. _

_"Yes," He nodded, turning around and storming out of the room. _

_Rachel turned to Naomi with a sigh, sitting back down on the bed and shaking her head. _

_"What's up?" Naomi sighed, dropping down besides her. _

_"I shouldn't have come in here. It wasn't fair to drag you into an argument between the two of us," She sighed, running a hand through her hair. _

_"It's fine, Rachel. Now I know what not to do," Naomi smirked. _

_"You're such a little brat!" Rachel said, reaching out to shove her sister aside. _

_"You're the one who comes storming into my room. You should go and talk to Noah now," Naomi replied, standing up and walking back towards her desk. _

_"I'm not in love with him!" Rachel stomped her foot as she rose to her own feet. _

_"I didn't say you were and I wasn't saying you should go talk to him because of that. I was saying it because he's downstairs alone when he came to see you and I have homework to do." Naomi rolled her eyes to herself, dropping down onto her desk chair. "But, I mean, if you're in love with him, now's as good a time as any to admit it," She stuck her tongue out over her shoulder.  
_

_"Brat!" Rachel muttered, storming out of the room and slamming the door shut behind her._

* * *

_**College:  
**"__Do you seriously have to go?" Naomi asked as she hugged her sister goodbye. _

_When Finn had called off the wedding, he had sent Rachel to New York City on her own. She'd stayed there long enough to get a tour of the campus and get through her orientation. A month after arriving, she returned home for the rest of her summer so she could properly say goodbye to her sister and her fathers. _

_"I'm sorry, Naomi. I'd stay if I could, but I have to move on. This town is too small for me, and there's nothing else here for me now," Rachel shook her head, returning her sister's hug. _

_Naomi knew what Rachel meant. Finn had taken off for the army, Mercedes was in LA working on her record while Quinn was on her way to Yale. Santana was at her college, which was actually the closest to Lima. Mike was gone for dance school._

_Sam was preparing to go back to Lima for his senior year with Blaine, Tina and Artie. Brittany was still trying to figure out why she was a senior once again. Joe and Sugar were two people that Rachel had never had an opportunity to get close with. _

_Kurt was still around and he'd been a constant presence at their house over the summer, but Rachel wasn't going to hang around Lima with Kurt while he was depressed about not getting into NYADA when Rachel had gotten into the school. It would cause too many problems between the two of them, because Kurt wanted Rachel to go to New York. He wanted her to move on, and Rachel didn't want to leave him behind because she was afraid that they would lose their friendship. _

_And Noah had taken off for LA on his motorcycle, after selling his truck-unbeknownst to him, he had sold the truck to one Jake Puckerman-as soon as Rachel's train was gone, claiming he had no reason to stay in Lima, besides his mother and his sister, who agreed it was better that he get out of the town that would only remind him of everything he hated and everybody who thought he would never do better. _

_The real person that Rachel was talking about, was Noah, though. That was who Rachel cared about, outside of her own family and the Puckerman family, of course. _

_"You'll come visit? And you'll call every night?" Naomi wondered when they broke their hug apart. _

_"Promise," Rachel nodded. "And you promise me you'll take my place in the Glee club? They could use a voice like yours," Rachel nodded, trying to hide her tears. It wasn't easy for two drama queens to say their goodbyes._

_"I promise," Naomi swore to her sister through tear-filled eyes._


	2. Chapter 2

**Half Of My Heart  
Glee AU Fan Fiction  
Chapter 2: Moving On**

"You're being a bit overly dramatic," Jake Puckerman rolled his eyes, leaning in the doorway of his best friend's bedroom. "You look fine. Stop putting that goo on your face, stop messing your hair up to make it look like you didn't care and it still looked great, and stop glancing at your closet as if you need to change." He responded, his tone playful and teasing, the way it usually was with his best friend.

Naomi Berry whirled around, narrowing her eyes at her best friend as she placed her hands firmly on her hips.

"You're a _guy. _You don't understand how hard it is for females to get ready in the morning, alright?" She rolled her eyes at him before turning back to the mirror.

She was dressed in a green and white vertical stripped tank top with golden buttons down the center, paired with ultra-faded denim, rolled up shorts. She had green cork-soled wedges on with green specks in the cork, a large pair of black sunglasses pushing her hair back, which was a deep shade of honey blonde, falling in natural curls down her back. Her hair always turned blonde in the summer from the sun, before turning to a dark shade of brown from the lack of sunlight as the year went on.

On her bed sat her Michael Kors, neutral colored backpack, full of her books, with her cross-shoulder, green Dooney&Bourke bag, holding onto her black Coach wallet and her multicolored cosmetic bag as well as her Vera Bradley sunglasses case. Her iPhone was covered in a black, Disney-themed case and in the front pocket of the bag.

Her right arm was full of lime green, rubber bracelets with her left arm cluttered with green and purple bangles. Green, bejeweled, circular studs were placed in her ears and she had green, turtle-shaped belly ring showing with the sliver of flat, tanned torso she was revealing.

"I just need a necklace, okay? Give me a minute," She called over her shoulder.

"A necklace?" He asked.

"Yeah, one of those things you wear around your neck?" She teased him playfully, searching through her jewelry box.

"Yeah, I know what a necklace is. I got you a present-you should open it, now," he nodded, tilting his backpack so that he could access it without removing it from his shoulder.

"I like presents!" She chirped, twirling on her heel and skipping over towards him, accepting the wrapped box from his grasp. She unwrapped it carefully, eyes growing wide at the box itself as she removed the cover. "Oh my god," She gasped, pulling the silver chain out of the box and examining the charm-a Star of David, position in the palm of a hand, the entire thing studded with tiny diamond chips.

"Jake, how did you get this?" She asked him, forcing her eyes from the gift to focus on him.

"I've been saving up," he shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking at the ground sheepishly. "I figured I owed you big time for all the lying you've been doing to cove up for me," he admitted.

"You're kinda adorable sometimes," She giggled, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, standing up on her tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on his cheek before breaking away, walking towards her bed while putting her necklace on.

She grabbed her bags, swinging her backpack over her shoulders and adding her purse to the crook of her arm, making her way from the room, grabbing onto his hand as she passed, dragging him from the room and down the hallway. It was her first day at McKinley-she hadn't wanted to live in her sister's shadow there, so she had gone to school at Carmel after a heated debate with her fathers. Jake had attended it with her, in order to avoid Puck finding out about his brother. But now, Naomi had a promise to keep to her sister, and she was going to force Jake to help her keep it, if she wanted to or not.

* * *

"Shit," She muttered under her breath as she made her way down the hallways of McKinley, trying to figure out where she was headed for her next class.

Of course, she had no idea where she was supposed to go, and that was just creating problem after problem for herself. She couldn't even find the only familiar faces she would have in the school-Blaine Anderson and Sam Evans, who were the only people who had met Rachel's younger sister from the Glee club who hadn't graduated yet.

"You lost?" She looked up, stopping dead in her tracks with just enough time to avoid bumping into the tall, slightly scrawny teenage boy standing before her with slightly long, straight honey-brown hair that fell into his face with angular bangs. He had a slightly long face with caramel colored eyes and a smile that made people want to smile right along with him. He was probably right around her age, but she couldn't put a name to the face. Clearly, he hadn't known her sister, which wasn't surprising with the age difference between the two of them.

"Oh, yeah-I'm new. Naomi Berry," She introduced herself with a smile, looking up to meet his eyes with her own chocolate colored eyes.

"Cool-I'm Ryder Lynn. Where you headed? I'll show you around," He offered, his own smile widening at her grin as he reached out, as if to take her schedule from her hands. She released her grip, allowing him to take it from her. "Your heading to english? Cool-I have that first period, too." He smiled, handing it back to her as he started walking, slowly at first until she fell into step besides him.

They walked in silence for a little while, the hallways around them starting to clear out as they made their way to the opposite end of the school-Naomi had been going in the absolute wrong direction and she was grateful that she had found him, because she never would have figured out where to go on her own.

"So, where'd you move here from?" He asked.

"Actually, I just transferred. I used to go to Carmel, but when my sister graduated, I promised her I'd make sure the Glee club stayed intact because it was so important to her, so I started up here. I only ever went to Carmel so I wouldn't constantly be in her shadow," Naomi explained.

"Who was your sister?"

"Rachel Berry," Naomi explained.

"Oh, yeah, I think I heard about her-she dated that Finn Hudson kid, right? He was on the varsity team-he used to come to our JV football practices and help me out, since I'm the quarterback and that was his position," Ryder explained.

"Oh, yeah...Finn-awesome guy," Naomi rolled her eyes.

"You don't like him?" Ryder frowned.

"He's cool and all, but he and Rachel just weren't right for one another. He was constantly trying to change her and tear her down. The best thing he ever did for her was set her free. She needs to be in New York City. She needs Broadway. But, whatever. Finn and Rachel don't really have anything to do with me," She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

"Yeah...I mean, I'd rather get to know you than hear about your sister and Finn," He said, flashing her that smile again.

* * *

"NAOMI!" the girl lifted her head, scanning the cafeteria as she tried to figure out where the voice calling her name was coming from.

Of course, she knew who it belonged to. It was none other than the loud mouth Sam Evans who was like a big brother to her. The only problem she was having was trying to figure out where he was.

"I'm behind you, short stop," he laughed as she jumped at the sudden weight on her shoulders. She turned around to find the tall, blonde haired senior standing before her in his football jersey, smiling down at her. "Come on-we're eating outside today. You can meet the rest of the club. Kurt's out there with Blaine," He nodded, swinging an arm around her shoulders as he steered her towards the courtyard, directly outside of the cafeteria.

He led her towards a table where, sure enough, the curly haired Blaine Anderson was sitting with the spiky haired Kurt Hummel besides him.

Also at the table was a blonde haired cheerleader, her sky high ponytail curled to perfection in tight spirals. Besides her was a dark haired Japanese girl who was whispering back and forth with her. A dred-lock clad boy was sitting besides a wheel chair clad boy with spiky hair and square frame glasses while a petite girl with a brunette bob was giggling at something a husky, adorable boy was saying. Naomi could just make out the Irish accent the boy had.

And that was all. Kurt, plus the remaining eight members of the New Directions. Four more were needed if they were every going to make it in a competition. Hopefully they would gain more than four, so that they could stand a fair chance against larger groups like Vocal Adrenaline, in an effort try and make up for the fact that they had lost Rachel's flawless, perfectly trained voice, Mercede's powerful high notes that came from her chest voice in a way only she could do, Kurt's male soprano, Noah Puckerman's sultry and sexy voice, Santana Lopez and Mike Chang's dance skills, Finn Hudson's own powerful voice and Quinn Fabray's smooth, alto voice.

"Hey guys! This is Rachel's little sister-remember, I was telling you about Naomi, the little golden throated firecracker who could probably beat Rachel _and _Mercedes in a diva-off?" Sam asked, sliding into a seat besides Kurt. Naomi took a seat besides him.

"Hey! I'm Brittany! Wanna be best friends?" The blonde cheerleader who was sitting directly across from her asked happily, leaning across the table and wrapping her in an awkward sort of hug.

"I'm Tina Cohen-Chang. If Brittany starts ranting about how she's Britney Spears, it's because her name is Brittany S. Pierce." the girl besides her said quickly, before Brittany could say anymore. Brittany crossed her arms, pouting playfully as she stuck out her tongue towards Tina before immediately jumping back to her happy, perky exterior. Naomi wasn't sure if Brittany was going to be too much to bare or her best friend, but she knew she was most likely going to find it impossible to ever hate her.

"I'm Artie Abrams," The boy in the wheel chair said, turning his attention from the boy with dreadlocks.

"Joe Hart," that boy responded with a smile.

"I'm Rory Flannigan," The Irish boy said.

"And I'm Sugar Motta," the other girl flipped her hair over her shoulder as she smirked towards her. Naomi was pretty sure she was going to strongly dislike this girl, especially with what Rachel had told her about the rich, spoiled rotten girl.

"And you know us," Blaine grinned. "Good to have you, Naomi." He said.

"It's good to be here," Naomi said honestly, scanning the courtyard to see if she might find Jake.

She had promised him she'd eat lunch with him, but Sam had whisked her away before she'd found him. She knew he'd understand why she hadn't kept her promise, because he was never angry with her. But, she still felt horrible. She was hoping she could find him and at least invite him over, even though she knew he would never come and sit with a group of his brother's old friends.

Jake had the same fear of living in Puck's shadow as Naomi did of living in Rachel's shadow. But Jake had more reasons to try and hide that he was related to Noah Puckerman. He was terrified that if Puck found out they were related, he would hate him, because he was sure that Puck would blame Jake for why his father had walked out on him, his mother and his sister, even though their shared father had opted to not act as a father figure for either of them.

What Naomi was constantly trying to make him understand was what Puck wouldn't hate him. Puck would probably be bitter at first, but once he got to know him? Once he realized how similar they were and how Jake had grown up the same way as Puck had, he would step in and offer to be Jake's role model, the one that Puck hadn't had until his own sophomore year of high school, when he had met Mr. Shuester and learned what it was like to be a man in a room that he'd never known had existed with people that he had always made fun of, singing songs that he hated.

Glee Club had made him a man, and Rachel was trying to convince Puck to go to school for music, because she knew how much it meant to him. But, Puck wasn't going to school. Instead, he was out in LA having the time of his life as he tried to make a living cleaning pools. Naomi was the only one who knew that Noah was saving up any money he could and attending UCLA in an effort to get into NYU, his first choice school that hadn't offered him a scholarship.

Once he was in New York with Rachel? That was when he was going to focus on his future, because he wanted to be near her. He had to be near her. He couldn't just leave his best friend to her own defenses in a town like New York City.

Puck had always looked out from Rachel, even when he was acting as a bully and trying to tear her down. He had always wanted to keep her safe and protect her.

It was the same sort of relationship that Jake and Naomi had, the only difference being that Puck and Rachel were both in love with one another. They were just too stubborn to admit it to anybody but to themselves, internally. Naomi only knew because she knew the both of them so well.

She knew that Puck's heart had broken when Rachel had dumped him in their sophomore year of high school the same way that Rachel's had broken when she learned that Puck was the father of Quinn's baby. She knew that Puck had only ended up in Juvie because he was so miserable about Finn and Rachel's successful relationship and how in love they were. And she knew that Rachel had gone to visit him every week, bringing him his homework and helping him finish it so he didn't fall behind. Naomi knew that Puck had been broken hearted and hurt, once again, when Rachel told Finn their make-out session was a mistake and she knew that Rachel had called Puck crying when Finn dumped her, holding her as she cried while he sang her _Sweet Caroline _until she fell asleep.

Naomi knew that Puck had showed up to restock their fathers' liquor cabinet after Kurt had stormed out of the house and she knew that he had helped Finn win Rachel back, because he would rather have Rachel be with Finn than get her heart broken by Jesse St. James for a second time. Naomi had been the one to help Puck and Kurt plan the Barbra-Vention while Finn worried about Quinn and their superficial prom activities.

And Naomi knew about how Puck had driven around town for hours when he'd learned that Finn and Rachel were going to have sex, with Naomi in the passenger's seat as he ranted and raved, occasionally letting a few tears fall.

She was the one that knew that Puck had showed up to hold Rachel's hair back when she threw up after Finn fed her actual meat, relieving Naomi of her duties so she could get Rachel some tea and make the Berry girls' infamous sugar cookies. Naomi was the one who knew that Puck had stopped talking to her after the proposal and Rachel's acceptance, until the second he had failed that test and Rachel had bombed her audition, the two of them sitting in the Berry's living room watching Harry Potter movies until their eyes were bloodshot from something other than tears while they snacked on their own guilty pleasures, neither one talking until they were able to laugh once again and be like they had always been.

Naomi knew that they belonged together, but she wasn't going to push it. She was slightly afraid that if they ever started to date, they would wind up with broken hearts all around, never speaking again when Finn entered the picture. Because the thing was, Puck felt like he owed Finn something, especially after what had happened with Quinn. And Rachel would always hold a spot in her heart for Finn. If he was angry with them because of their relationship, they would end things immediately and their friendship would be ruined forever.

Puck wouldn't be able to look at her with Finn and Rachel wouldn't be able to stand seeing Puck try to move on.

So, maybe it was better for the two of them to just try and stay friends for most of their lives. It would save Naomi from losing the boy who had become a big brother to her and it would save her the struggle of seeing her older sister and best friend with a broken heart. And it would make it much easier to hide that Jake was related to Puck if Puck didn't become a permanent part of Naomi's life as Rachel's boyfriend and maybe, eventually her husband.

* * *

"Mr. Shuester-you're never going to believe who we found," Sam's voice said as the members of New Directions entered the choir room.

"Not now, Sam-we have to talk about auditions and-"

"Mr. Shuester, this is going to take five minutes. It's really important. We found a new Rach-"

"There is _not _going to be a New Rachel. I highly resent that term because it makes it seem as though Rachel was our star and while-"

"Mr. Shuester! Will you stop interrupting Sam and just listen to us?" Kurt asked, his high voice raising a few octaves.

Mr. Shuester sighed, turning around to face his students. He reached up, running a hand through his curly mess of hair with just a little bit too much product before covering his face with his hands, rubbing at his eyes in frustration.

"I'm sorry, guys. I need to find at least four more students who want to be in the club and we lost some pretty big voices and some incredible dance skills. It's going to take a-Rachel, I understand that you want the club to stay-"He cut himself off, changing his topic when he spotted the new girl in the room.

"I'm not Rachel. I'm Naomi Berry-her younger sister. I used to go to Carmel, but I promised Rachel I'd help make sure the club stayed at its full potential. And that means we're going to win Nationals again and then Internationals and then...Glee Galactic! Where we compete on Mars." Naomi smirked towards Kurt and Blaine.

The two boys, along with Sam, lowered their heads and blushed, facing the ground at her teasing. They had, over the summer when they were preparing her to start at Lima, joked about what came after Nationals for something like a Glee Club.

"Do we have the budget for that?" Artie asked, looking at the four giggling students in confusion, wondering how it was that Sam already knew Naomi and had inside jokes with her. He could understand Blaine and Kurt knowing her, because of their relationship with Rachel.

"There's no such thing as that. Rachel had a sister? How come she never told any of us about having a sister? And why did you go to Carmel if she went to school here?" Mr. Shuester asked, trying to figure out what was happening around him.

"I didn't want to live in my sister's shadow, so I talked it over with my dads and they let me go. Rachel and I were close, but besides Puck, the only people who really knew about me were Finn, Kurt, Blaine and Sam," She explained. "Anyways, I'm here now and I'd like to audition for the Glee Club. Sammy felt certain that you'd immediately let me in because I'm Rachel's sister but I don't want to be in the club merely because I'm related to Rachel," She went on.

"Of course-we were going to discuss what's going to happen at auditions in rehearsal today, but since you're here now, you can go ahead and audition. Guys, everybody take a seat. Naomi, the floor is yours," Mr. Shuester nodded, gesturing towards the center of the room.

Sam took a seat in the first row, Brittany on one side of him with Tina on the other, Artie sitting at the end of the row. Blaine was on Sam's other side with Kurt besides him. Joe was sitting in the back row, by himself, while Sugar and Rory sat in the second row, towards the end of the row. Mr. Shuester took a seat besides Kurt and Naomi made her way to the front of the room, telling the band the name of the song she would be singing.

She moved towards the front of the piano, hopping onto of it and facing her audience. She nodded for the music to start and began kicking her legs back and forth to the beat, bopping in her seat as the music played.

_"I fell in love in a 7/11 parking lot/Sat on the curb drinking slurpees we mixed with alcohol/We talked all about our dreams and how we would show 'em all/I told him I got a plan and I'm gonna dominate/And I don't need any man to be getting in my way/But if you talk with your hands then we can negotiate/I just keep moving my body/I'm always ready to party/No, I don't listen to mommy/And I'll never say that I'm sorry," _She started the song, hopping off of the piano towards the end of the first verse and swaying her hips as she danced to the beat, moving towards the center of the room so that she was only a few feet away from the front row of her audience.

"_I"m an american girl/Hot blooded and I'm ready to go, I'm loving taking over the world/Hot blooded, all american girl/I was raised by a television/Every day is a competition/But the key in my ignition," _She sang out, nodding towards Brittany who jumped up and joined in on her choreography as they moved as though they were one unit.

"_I wanna see all the stars and everything in between/I wanna but a new heart out of a vending machine/'Cause it's a free country so baby we can do anything/I just keep moving my body/I'm always ready to party/No, I don't listen to mommy/And I'll never say that I'm sorry," _The girls went towards the front row, pulling Sam and Blaine to their feet and forcing them to join in on their dance as they neared the chorus.

_"I'm an American Girl/Hot blooded and I'm ready to go/I'm loving taking over the world/Hot blooded, All-American girl/I was raised by a television/Every day is a competition/Put the key in my ignition/You know we're gonna shine so bright/Oh baby, gonna go all night/You know we're gonna shine so bright/Oh baby gonna go all night/I'm an American girl/ Hot-blooded and I'm ready to go/I'm loving taking over the world/Hot blooded all American girl/I was raised by a television/Every day is a competition/Put the key into my ignition/Oh I'm an American girl/Hot blooded and I'm ready to go/I'm loving taking over the world/I'm an American girl," _By the end of the song, the entire club was up, singing along to the song and dancing around the room in a fashion similar to Blaine's own audition into the club.

"Isn't she like Rachel on steroids or something?" Sam exclaimed as the song finished.

"She's incredible, isn't she?" Blaine beamed, swinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Rachel always said her sister had more talent than her," Kurt nodded with a bright smile.

"I think you guys are exaggerating," Tina shook her head. "They have totally different styles. It's not that one's better than the other," She explained.

"She's really good though. And she has really good dance moves," Brittany smiled at Naomi.

"We need her, Mr. Shuester." Artie agreed.

"Guys-was it really a question? She's in, without a doubt, and she's in because she earned it with her own talent. It has nothing to do with Rachel," Mr. Shuester assured her.

* * *

"Where were you all day? I barely saw you," Jake asked as they climbed into his truck for her drive home.

"Sorry-I know I promised to sit with you at lunch, but Sam kidnapped me because he wanted me to meet the club and after school they wanted me to go audition so I had to get to Glee rehearsal. I'm super sorry and I'll make it up to you, I swear. You should audition! The official auditions are tomorrow after school. Extracurricular activities will look super good on your college applications," She explained brightly as she reached for his radio, putting on her favorite country music station.

"I can't, Naomi-you know that. I look enough like him. I can't start befriending all of his old friends. They'll catch on, especially with me in a place he used to be in all the time. What if I even sort of sound like him when I sing?" He worried.

"You do. And you need to stop hiding from him. He's not going to blame you. He'll hate your father more, but he already knows, in a way. At least, he knows he must have a brother. He heard his parents fighting about it. He just doesn't want to admit it, okay? He'd not going to hate you. He'll want to help you. I know him. Nobody except for Rachel knows him as well as I do. Please, Jake, audition, for me? And if nobody catches on, we don't have to tell anybody. Please?" She asked, turning her puppy dog pout on him as she changed her voice to a whine.

She knew that he could hardly say no to her on a normal day. But when she was whining and pleading with him? It was impossible.

"I'll consider it, alright? Ugh, fine, okay-I'll audition. God damn it, just stop with the face!" He groaned, turning on the truck and pulling out of his parking spot.

"Yay! You are the absolute best friend in the entire world. Are you coming over for dinner tonight?" She asked him, immediately returning to her cheerful exterior as she straightened up, bringing her feet up to rest against the dashboard as she leaned her seat back, making herself comfortable.

She knew that if she'd been in the truck before Jake had bought it, Puck would have killed her for it, but Jake let her get away with absolutely anything. Therefore, it was officially okay to make herself as comfortable as possible in his truck.

"Sure," He nodded. "Wait-am I going to have to watch _The Breakfast Club _when I get to your house?" He asked warily.

"Of course not. It's a Monday and we watch 50's movies on Mondays, remember? I was thinking we could watch _Hairspray!" _She exclaimed.

"I really hate all of your decade fetishes. They're really annoying and it means we never get to watch a movie I want to," He complained.

"Stop being such a downer all the time, Jake. I offered to compromise and watch_ Little Shop of Horrors _last week so you had your horror movie and I had a movie from the proper decade, but that wasn't good enough for you. Therefore, I'm done trying to please you," She said before turning up the volume and singing along to the radio.

He shook his head, sneaking a little peak over at her as he wondered how angry she'd be with him if she knew that he was slowly breaking his promise to her, the only promise he'd had to make her that meant a lot to her. He shook his head, turning back towards the road. He didn't have to worry about that because he was never going to let her know how he really felt-that he was slowly starting to fall for her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Half Of My Heart  
Glee AU Fan Fiction  
Chapter 3: Brotherly Advice  
**

_**A/N: So it's been forever. I know. I suck. I'm awful. Hate me forever. But I'm here now and I've never been happier because Jarley finally broke up. Okay, well they didn't break up but we all know it's coming. I mean, he went and got together with Bree and he walked out on her. If it's not official, it will be soon. And I will feel bad for her and for him, but I'm just not a fan of the couple. Sorry to anybody who likes the couple, but I hate that couple. Mostly because I have a dislike for Marley. I feel like they made her too...perfect or something. She's too nice, too talented (they make her out to be the most talented person in the world), too easily liked (even Kitty found it hard to be mean to her), and for somebody who's so poor, she has more Vera Bradley stuff than most people I know. Seriously, though, she can date anybody else on the show-after the first episode, I was shipping her with Sam. And then Ryder when he came into the picture. I never thought she'd get with Jake. Anyways, I'm excited about that concept, even if I doubt it's going to last for longer than an episode. Here's hoping though, right?**_

"Hey, Naomi!"

"Hey, Noah."

It was a week after the dreadful first day of school and the auditions to the New Directions where Mr. Shuester had shattered Jake's confidence and asked him to stop before he was even halfway through his song. A week since Jake became the school's bad ass who just didn't care about anybody and anything. A week since Naomi and Jake started to drift apart as he isolated himself and she got closer and closer to the other members of the New Directions.

Two new members had been accepted, leaving them two short of what they needed to be an actual club. One was named Marley Rose who was a soft spoken, quiet girl who seemed to be very shy. She had an excellent voice, that would probably be able to sing almost any style, but she knew that she was good and the sweet-appearing girl made it clear that she was anything but sweet, on the inside and when it came to solos or performing. She assumed that being talented meant that she was better than anybody else in the club, even if that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Wade Adams, who preferred to go by Unique was the other new member who thought of himself as a female, rather than the male that he was. Unique assumed that just because she had been a star at Vocal Adrenaline-because of her preference for dressing in drag-she deserved to be a star at McKinley, which only made it all the more obvious that she and Marley became the best of friends.

Naomi wasn't really a fan of either of them, but she opted to just ignore their obnoxiously overbearing personalities and make the best of it instead, spending as much time as possible with her best friends, even if they were all older than her. When she saw Ryder at school, she always made a habit of saying hi and in the few classes they shared together, she would sit by him and talk to him, becoming a fast friend with the football player.

The only thing that was bothering her was Jake. He was acting as though he _enjoyed _breaking the rules. He was starting to act more and more like his brother every day, and it was breaking Naomi's heart. She knew that Jake was better than that. She knew that he could do better. She knew that Jake was sweeter and that he didn't need to fall into the bad boy stereotype in order to get by in school the way that Noah had always felt the need to-

"Noah?" Naomi gasped, turning on her heel and racing back down the hallway until she fell into step with the older male. "What are you doing here?" She asked, eyes growing wide in panic.

Jake could _not _see Noah there and Noah could _not _see Jake. Nobody could see them close to one another, or questions would start circulating the school. This was not good and it just didn't make any sense. Noah was supposed to be in California, working his ass off to get good enough grades to get into NYU and working his ass even harder to get money for the move. Flying back to Lima for a visit so soon after the start of the year was most definitely not on his budget.

"Chill-I rode my motorcycle down here. Mr. Shue called and asked me to come talk some sense into some delinquent teenager who tried out for the club and flipped when Shue stopped him. Apparently I remind Mr. Shuester of him," Noah said, eyeing her suspiciously.

It was the same look that he gave Naomi and Rachel whenever he caught them in a lie. Noah would never come straight out and brag about catching them in a lie. He liked to make them squirm. He'd play with them a bit instead, until he could get them to admit it themselves. That was how he had always worked, and Naomi hated it.

Of course, she should have figured that Mr. Shuester would go and investigate the mysterious case of Jake No-Last-Name after his freak out and refusal to join the club even after Mr. Shuester apology for stopping him. She should have known that Mr. Shuester would make it a personal interest to ensure that he figured out what this kid's problem was, and she wouldn't be surprised if Jake already was aware of the fact that Mr. Shue knew that Noah was his brother. She wouldn't doubt it that Mr. Shue had even let Jake know that Noah already knew as well.

She couldn't be sure, as Jake wasn't speaking to her, but she could only assume that that would be enough to get him to stop talking to her for a while, as it had been her idea that had gotten him into the mess in the first place.

"You know about Jake?" Naomi sighed.

"You're no fun. It takes me at least ten minutes to get Rachel to admit to lying to me. I'm not mad at you, Naomi. I get why you did what you did. And I know that Rachel knew about the whole thing, and I'm not mad at her either. I'd do the same thing for you two and you know it. But, I need to try and talk some sense into my brother. He can have the male influence I never got to have."

"You're in Cali-"

"I'm thinking about sticking around. I'm not crazy about California," He admitted with a sigh.

"What about NYU?" Naomi asked, eyes widening in horror again.

"Finn called. He's in Georgia, trying to clear his head. He got kicked out of the army. He's going to find Rachel. He wants her back. You know she's always going to pick him. It's hopeless," Puck sighed, running a hand through his mohawk.

"If you honestly believe that, you aren't the same boy I always thought you were," Naomi shook her head, walking away from him as she left him at the entrance of the choir room.

She had to talk to her sister and see if she knew about the Finn situation yet. From the way Rachel was talking, she was already into that Brody Weston kid at her new school. Naomi might not be crazy about Finn, but from what Rachel had been telling her about Brody, she'd rather have Finn in her life than that sketchy performer guy. Especially with what Kurt had been telling Naomi about him.

Kurt had taken off for New York by the end of the first week of school, at Blaine and Naomi's own insistence. Kurt was too big for Lima and everybody in the world knew it.

* * *

"What did you and Noah talk about?" Naomi asked softly, sliding into Noah's old truck, that was currently owned by Jake, a few seconds after the teenage boy had done so. She knew that she had startled him, and she knew that he was probably angry with her for sneaking up on him like that, but she didn't care. She needed answers.

"He said that I shouldn't judge who I am based on who our dad was, and that no matter what happens, I'm his brother and he's going to be there for me. He told me if I ever need anything, just to give him a call because he'll be in New York, and he'll break every law imaginable to get here for me. And he told me that he became a man in the choir room, even if he'd thought that being in that room was going to take away all of his masculinity," Jake said it all in a single breath, as if he couldn't wait to get it all out in the open.

"That's good," Naomi said, biting her tongue as soon as the simple syllables were out. She didn't want to risk making everything about herself and her sister, by commenting on the fact that Puck said he would be in New York, not Lima and not California, but the state where Rachel was currently located.

"I talked to Mr. Schuester. I'm joining the Glee Club," Jake went on casually as he started the truck.

Naomi did a mental count in her head, while listening to Jake go on about his conversation with his brother and the talk he had had with the history teacher at McKinley.

With Blaine, Brittany, Artie, Sam, Tina, Joe, Sugar, and Rory all returning, as well as Unique, Marley, Jake and herself joining the club, that gave them exactly twelve members. They could officially compete.

"Oh, by the way-why didn't you tell me that you made the Cheerio's?" Jake asked, lowering his gaze onto her bare legs that were just barely covered by the short, pleated, red and white cheerleading skirt with its matching form fitting, control top shell squeezing her chest in, confining her of any deep breaths.

"Because I was forced to try out against my will. Apparently they lost a lot of seniors last year, so they only had Brittany and Becky still on the team from last year. Quinn, Brittany, Santana and Becky were the only freshman to ever make the team while Sue was around. She ordered new uniforms for this year, to mark her new era," Naomi rolled her eyes.

In all honesty, she hadn't told him because they'd barely spoken. He hadn't talked to her at all on the day she'd decided to end Brittany's whining, begging pleads and just try out, so he hadn't been able to know ahead of time. He hadn't answered her phone call when she'd found out she made the team and telling him when she was wearing the uniform already would seem silly, because it would be obvious to everybody that she was, in fact, a cheerleader.

But, she didn't want to make him fell bad for the isolation and the minor rift in their friendship. Everything was going to be better from that point on, so what did it matter?

"Brittany gets you to do a lot of things you don't want to do, doesn't she?" Jake smirked.

"It's whatever-I've got a new best friend now, and she's actually my age. I mean, Brittany's still my best friend and I love her almost as much as I love Rachel, but Kitty and I have this special bond, you know? We have, like, everything in common and she's really fun to be around, as long as she isn't acting like a complete and total bitch. I try to keep her in line," Naomi explained happily, hating that she had so much to catch up on with her best friend.

"Kitty Wilde? That blonde she-devil who walks around acting all holy and shit? Dude, she's like Quinn Fabray reincarnated, only possessed by the devil!" Jake cried out in shock as he started to pull out of the parking lot.

"That's not fair. You never even met Quinn nor did you get to hear stories directly from the source about how bad she was. And Kitty isn't really that bad. Her family is very religious, so she kind of has to be, but she doesn't want her entire life to be like that. She wants to live while she's young so she doesn't have regrets. She's a bitch because it's hard to go against your parents like that every step of the way. That's why Quinn's her idol; she managed to have it all, in a way," Naomi told him sternly.

"You're a better person than I am. I would have said fuck it a while ago and never given her the time of day." Jake shrugged.

* * *

"Are you coming over tonight? I'm sure my fathers are having Noah over for dinner since he's back in town, but you know you're more than welcome to stick around," Naomi smiled sweetly as Jake pulled into her driveway.

He glanced towards her, immediately looking away.

He was sure that she assumed the reason for him staying away for so long had been because he'd learned that somebody had figured out his secret about being a Puckerman, but that hadn't been it at all. He was finding it harder and harder to resist the feelings he was feeling towards her that were much stronger than friendship. And seeing her in that sexy as sin cheerleading uniform wasn't helping matters at all.

Her legs were barely even covered by the tiny red and white pleats that made up what she called a skirt. And they were already long and muscular enough to be warranted as sexy weapons on their own. A sliver of her stomach was revealed between the hem of her form fitting top and the skirt that hung low on her hips. And her blonde hair was falling around her pretty face, making her seem like the ideal cheerleader in any boy's fantasy.

He didn't want to be thinking about his best friend in such ways, but he couldn't help it. The crush had been growing for far too long for him to ignore it now, when she seemed to be tempting fate even more every day.

"Yeah, sure," He nodded, realizing that he was acting strange, taking too long to answer her simple question.

"You're sort of weird today. You sure you're okay?" She asked, giving him a strange look as she slid out of the car.

He nodded his head as he crawled out after her, grateful for the phone call she had to take as soon as her feet hit the concrete driveway. While he usually hated any sort of a distraction from their time together, he needed something to help him deal with what was going on in his head at the moment.

He shouldn't be thinking such things about his best friend. He shouldn't be thinking such inappropriate, dirty thoughts about the girl who constantly referred to him as her 'big brother'. Naomi had made him promise that he would never fall for her, and he was doing just that, breaking the only promise he'd ever made to her that actually meant something.

He needed to figure out something else that he could do to try and get over the walking wet dream that was his best friend, but that was getting harder and harder with the jealousy that he was stuck dealing with every single time he saw her with a guy who wasn't him.

When she walked down the hallway with Sam Evans, the blonde wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they walked, occasionally giving her shoulder a squeeze as he'd look down at her and smile, laughing at whatever he'd just said, Jake wanted to go and join in their conversation to prove that he was every bit as funny as the big mouthed boy next door. Jake hated the way that Sam made her laugh so hard-the way that only Jake had ever been able to do before they'd started at Lima.

When Naomi would wheel Artie down the hallway or rush at him whenever somebody bumped into him, Jake wished-and he knew it was wrong of him-that he had something wrong with him that would warrant Naomi's concern that way. It never failed to fill his head with some nasty images of her dressed up as a rather sexy nurse, doing some very dirty things to him as she took care of him.

When Blaine would pick Naomi up and twirl her around whenever one of them was excited, Jake wanted to rush at him and take her away-and he knew that Blaine was gay and not interested in the tiny girl at all.

And whenever Jake heard Ryder talking about Naomi to anybody-even if Ryder never said anything that lacked respect-or saw that Ryder kid with Naomi, he wanted to punch the kid's brains out, because Ryder had an obvious crush on Naomi and he actually stood a chance. And the worst part of it all was that Ryder would actually be good for her. Ryder was a star football player. He never got into trouble at school. He tried to get good grades, but he just couldn't grasp what was going on around him-Jake had heard some teachers arguing over him being dyslexic. Ryder was everything that Naomi should have in a guy and that killed Jake because it was the opposite of himself.

"Ryder!" Naomi said brightly as soon as she answered the phone. "Busy? No, not really-I'm just hanging out with Jake. Puckerman, you know? Oh, you'll have to meet him sometime," Naomi insisted as they walked towards the house, phone wedged between her ear and shoulder as she searched through her bag for her house key.

Jake could feel his knuckles tense up into a clenched fist at the mere mention of Ryder's name.

Now Ryder was invading on Jake's time with Naomi and she was actually allowing it to happen. That hurt him more than it shoulder, and only a small part of the reason was because Jake didn't know if his best friend was into the guy or not. Only a very tiny portion of his pain came from the idea that he didn't know everything about Naomi for a change. The majority of it was from the jealousy that was threatening to tear him apart and eat him alive.

* * *

"You're head over heels in love with her," Puck muttered as Naomi walked out of the living room to help her fathers set up with dinner, leaving the two Puckerman boys alone together.

Jake snapped his attention from Naomi's retreating figure with her swaying hips to look at his half brother in shock.

"You're not obvious. I can tell because I feel the same way about her sister. Rachel's into my friend Finn, though, and Finn loves her almost as much as I do. But, Naomi? You've still got a shot with her, and there's nobody I trust more with that girl than my own brother. And I don't think my brother would be able to do any better than a Berry girl," Puck shrugged.

"She made me promise not to fall in love with her, after you went to Juvie or something like that," Jake muttered.

"Are you really going to respect that? You're already breaking that promise, Jake. You can either take it like a man and admit it to her, or sit there and wallow in self pity because she never found out how you felt about went on to date some other dude?" Puck asked, a harsh expression on his face that worried Jake as to just how much this conversation meant to the older male.

Jake was quiet, keeping his gaze though. How was he supposed to explain the conflicting dilemmas going through his head at the moment to his brother who was so confident and sure of himself and everything that he said? Puck wouldn't be able to understand.

"You think I don't get it. You've probably heard my reputation by now, especially if everybody knows we're related. I'll admit-I was a a bad ass when I was in high school, but you want to know why? And it's not the reason everybody assumes," Puck insisted.

"It's not because you wanted people to think nothing got to you so they'd be afraid?" Jake frowned.

"'Course not. I was an asshole because I needed to keep Rachel safe. Do you know the only promise that girl ever made me make her? She made me promise that I'd always be her best friend and keep her safe-the one person who never tried to shift from where they belonged in her life. Well, I broke that promise all of the time, but we found our way back to one another and now our relationship's never been stronger. Of course, the only time I ever withheld the truth from her was when I kept it a secret that I've been in love with her since I first heard her sing-really sing-at my Bar Mitzvah back when I was thirteen," Puck shrugged.

"What is with these girls?" Jake sighed, putting his face in his hands and tilting his head back.

"Berry girls like to mess with us Puckerman men. It's like a test, dude. So, I suggest you man up and let her know about how you feel sometime soon, before some other dude moves in on her. Because that's when you're going to do what I did and lose her," Puck said softly.

"Hey-are you losers talking about me?" Naomi's voice cut into their conversation as she walked back into the living room, dropping down on Jake's lap with a smile, cuddling up against him. "I knew I never should have left y'all alone together," She rolled her eyes.

Jake smiled, wrapping his arms around her curvy waist as he pulled her closer to him, reaching towards her legs and bringing them onto the couch beneath her, feet off to the side so they actually hit the material. He loved it when she would just come up and cuddle with, getting as close to him as physically possible. It was the only time that gave him actual hope that he might be able to have a relationship with her, and it never failed to bring a smile to his face.

He brought his gaze from the girl in his lap and met his brother's smirking face, who seemed to be saying that he had, in fact, told him so. But, Naomi did this all of the time and it meant nothing romantically.

"So, Naomi-any boys at school I have to go and beat up anytime soon?"

Jake could feel her shift her weight, adjusting herself nervously. He was sure her face was bright red due to Puck's question and the embarrassment that it had caused. And Jake shot his brother a glare as Naomi lowered her gaze. Jake didn't want to hear the answer to that question because he knew it wasn't going to be good for him.

"There is this one guy-I met him on my first day. He's really sweet, and he's kind of cute. He's quirky-like, really dorky. He reminds me a lot of Sam, but with Finn's innocence, you know? Anyways, I'm going to start tutoring him soon. I guess you could say I'm sort of into him...I mean, I wouldn't say no if he asked me out, but I'm not dying waiting for a date or anything," She muttered.

Jake could feel every muscle of his body tense up. Of course she had to have a crush on Ryder freaking Lynn. It just made everything worse, because it was a guy so different from Jake that he knew there was no way he could ever compete with him.

And from the look on Puck's face, it was clear that the situation between Rachel, Puck and Finn-which Jake had called Puckleberry Finn at school-was starting over once again with Naomi, Jake and Ryder.

* * *

"Ryder!" Naomi's face lit up in a bright smile as she pulled Jake down the hallway, towards the tall, lanky boy with the muscular, thin build.

The kid, with his flippy hair in 2013, flipped his dangling side bangs out of his face. He looked like some sort of Shane Dawson wanna be. He flashed a smile towards Naomi, the smile quivering a bit at the sight of Naomi and Jake's locked hands.

"Hey, Naomi," He smiled down at her.

"This is Jake Puckerman, my best friend in the entire world. Jake, this is Ryder Lynn," Naomi said, releasing his hand and wrapping her arms around Ryder's in a tight embrace of greeting. "I have to go meet Kitty-our order for cheerleading came in and I have to get my stuff. I'll see you all later!" She said brightly, releasing him as she ran off down the hallway, leaving them alone.

"You're into her," They accused each other at the same time.

"I've known her for years. I have more a right to her than you do," Jake said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And if she wanted to be with you, you've had more chances than anybody else to get with her. Clearly she doesn't want to be with her," Ryder smirked, mimicking the action.

"Ryder Lynn? What sort of a name is Ryder Lynn? It sounds like a cowgirl doll that comes with her own pony," Jake glared at him, narrowing his eyes into harsh slits.

"You think you're so cool and such a bad ass just because you aren't in any one clique, don't you? You think you're some sort of a rebel because you skip class and you flirt with every girl. Do you think you're cool because every girl wants you or something? You're type is disgusting and it's sickening. Naomi deserves better than that," Ryder said harshly, a cruel tone to his voice.

"You don't know the first thing about me." Jake shook his head, pushing past the boy and storming down the hallway.

Maybe that had been Puck's image when he had been at school, but Jake wasn't going to have that image. If he had that image, he was never going to get a shot with Naomi, and that was the opposite of what he wanted. He had to prove to everybody that he could be serious-that he could settle down with one girl.

He had to prove that he wasn't a bad ass like his brother, but he still shouldn't be messed with. And the entire time, he had to ensure that Naomi was kept safe from harm. And that included a relationship with Ryder Lynn.

"Ow!"

"Shit," Jake muttered, dropping to his knees to help pick up the books of the girl he'd just bumped into.

He really needed to start watching where he was going and not get to caught up with the thoughts running through his head all of the time. It wasn't safe, especially when he was at school in the crowded hallways.

"I'm sorry-I wasn't paying attention. Are you okay?" He asked, tucking the books under his arm and reaching out to help her up.

As he did so, he couldn't help but notice that she was sort of a pretty, in a cute kind of a way. She had a soft, angel like face with long, straight brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. There was nothing about her that screamed exotic or gorgeous. She was really rather plain, with a medium height, taller than Naomi but nowhere near as tall as he was himself. She was skinny, lacking of the same curves that Naomi had-or really any that could be detected. And she wasn't wearing anything to highlight any particular aspect of her body.

She was actually sort of frumpy, in a floral, pleated skirt that was longer than the skirts most girls wore to school, with a sweater that picked up the blue in the skirt, and converse on her feet to match. A blue newsboy hat was settled on her head, off to the side.

The thing that really caught Jake's attention were her bright blue eyes that sparkled and shined with innocence. She seemed so sweet and pure-so easily breakable that it made him feel even worse about having bumped into her. He was sure that one hit hard enough and she would shatter into a thousand pieces.

In every way, she was the exact opposite of Naomi, and that was what was probably the first thing that made him even give her a second glance.

"It's alright. I'm fine. I'm Marley Rose-you're Jake Puckerman, aren't you? I've heard a lot about you. I'm in the glee club. Everybody's really excited that you're going to be joining today," She said, a sweet smile taking over his face.

"Yeah, I'll be there-save me a seat next to you?" He asked, flashing her that charming grin that matched his brother's.

If possible, Marley's face lit up even more. "Of course!" She said brightly.

Jake smiled to himself. Marley was the exact opposite of Naomi. And Naomi was interested in the exact opposite of Jake. Perhaps that meant he actually stood a chance with Marley? After all, it's impossible to move on if you don't have anybody to move on to.


End file.
